Last Month, WWF led the world in marking the Earth Hour; the world’s biggest environmental event, organized in all continents to create understanding on the issues facing the planet and inspiring people to live more sustainably. While the world was marking the event, here in at WWF in Kwale, Kenya, we were busy putting this […]

]]>Last Month, WWF led the world in marking the Earth Hour; the world’s biggest environmental event, organized in all continents to create understanding on the issues facing the planet and inspiring people to live more sustainably.

While the world was marking the event, here in at WWF in Kwale, Kenya, we were busy putting this idea into practice – training rural communities to cook with a new type of energy efficient stoves.

Most households in Kenya use traditional cook stoves which are of low efficiency meaning most of energy is lost, hence more firewood are required. This translates to large areas of forests being cleared to meet the demand.

The new technology, known as Jiko Banifu, is more efficient, easy to adopt and costs much less.

Our new stoves cost much less than the previous type. A stove for a family of five members will now costs just 15 US dollars compared to 40 dollars with the old model. It also reduces firewood consumption by 50%.

What makes the stoves even more incredible is that they’re constructed by the local community, using locally available materials. This means there’s the potential to quickly replicate this approach in other rural villages.

We’ve trained 18 community members to become local level trainers. In total, 640 local people and 3 primary schools (with total of 650 pupils) have benefitted from this initiative so far. The target is to hit 1500 community members by June 2017.

There’s lots of work still to be done to cover the target communities and schools, we are committed to ensure this is achieved as planned.

Managing the demand for wood fuel

Of course, it’s not just about how the wood is used in homes. We need to make sure that forests don’t suffer because people are taking too much wood for fuel.

Extraction of wood fuel – for use in homes and businesses – has risen in recent years.

There’s a lack of county based regulation which allows illegal extraction to take place. This has left the areas degraded and contributed to poverty.

In the nearby Kilifi area, we’ve been working with Kilifi County Natural Resources Network and the county government to improve how forests are managed.

New regulations, currently under development, are a step in the right direction, and should help control woodfuel businesses. But of course more will need to be done to enforce the new rules to help protect the forests, their wildlife, and local communities.

WWF’s work in Kwale-Kilifi landscape is part of WWF’s Coastal Kenya Programme, which is gratefully supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, Size of Wales and the UK Government through the Department for International Development.

Every new year, when I tell myself that I’m going to lose weight, drink less, or (this year) eat less meat, I know that it won’t happen on the basis of willpower alone. If I set rules – tell myself how I’m going to do it – then I’m much more likely actually to achieve […]

]]>Every new year, when I tell myself that I’m going to lose weight, drink less, or (this year) eat less meat, I know that it won’t happen on the basis of willpower alone. If I set rules – tell myself how I’m going to do it – then I’m much more likely actually to achieve something: so-many dry days or meat-free meals a week. If I don’t, it remains little more than a fond hope and best intentions.

This is also true of the UK government’s climate targets. The Climate Change Act is amongst the strongest climate change legislation in the world – and it’s hugely encouraging, as some of the noise from climate-change deniers grows more confident, that this government has signed up to the fifth carbon budget and ratified the Paris Agreement. It signals the best intentions, and comes on the back of significant achievements in deploying renewables (25% of electricity generation) and cutting emissions (down more than a third on 1990).

Missing targets

But the problem with those intentions is that we’re not actually on track to hit our carbon targets beyond the end of this decade – indeed, we might be as much as 25% adrift by 2025. The emissions reduction plan ought to be about how we meet the fifth carbon budget – running from 2028 to 2032. But if we’re that far out on the one before it, then we’re going to be way off by then. So, like the promises I make to myself at the start of the year, I fear for our intentions in the absence of a plan.

Unlike my new year’s resolutions, of course, the government’s commitments under the UK Climate Change Act are legal obligations (I’ve never yet secured a slot for primary legislation for my lifestyle improvements), and have rather more far-reaching implications. This is why we’re getting very anxious as we wait for the government’s emissions reduction plan. We expected it last year, but obviously brexit is consuming a lot of civil service and Ministerial capacity. We then expected it by the end of March, but still nothing. And we’re not the only ones; the plan is just as crucial to businesses in the UK’s growing low carbon sector; they want to know how the government will support them as they conquer the energy mainstream and drive down costs.

But let’s be fair, it’s a complex undertaking – not least the process for government officials in lining up agreement from their colleagues in other departments. The reason we’re worried about it is also, I guess, the reason why it’s taking so long: there really are some huge gaps to be bridged.

Cutting energy and costs in homes

Terrace houses, Shutterstock

First, we’re making no progress reducing emissions from buildings. Energy efficiency (things like insulating our lofts and walls) offer some of the cheapest and quickest emissions reductions, yet four out of five homes are below the recommended level of efficiency (EPC C) that would deliver on climate targets, keep us warm, and cut our bills. We need the UK Government to up its game and help create a market for energy improvements, using incentives and standards. As for new buildings – making them efficient and low carbon is a no-brainer; yet still we’re building homes that mean future generations will need to have the exact same conversation we’re having now about retrofitting to improve efficiency. But to make a real change, we have to invest as well in low carbon heating – electric heat pumps for homes currently using oil, and district heating in urban areas. This isn’t easy, not least because it involves local authorities as well as national government leadership and investment – but it is crucial.

Cleaner power

Next, the electricity sector: for all the phenomenal deployment of renewables, and the commitment to phase out coal by 2025, the job is far from done. Decarbonisation will grind to a halt and stagger over a cliff without clear continued commitment to new clean generation. Alongside the commitment to offshore wind, the UK government still needs to give clarity for investors in other, cheaper, technologies like solar and onshore wind as to whether will provide a way for them to sell their power to the market, and what support there will be for smaller-scale renewables. But it also means clear commitment to robust carbon pricing, which the flagging EU emissions trading system is still failing to deliver. Post-brexit, the UK could potentially lead the way in the UK with a new and stronger carbon market – and underpin it with a decarbonisation target for the electricity sector. Getting all of this right, and continuing to decarbonise power, will be essential if we’re to tap the benefits of cleaner and more efficient electric transport and heating.

Planes, trains and automobiles

And thirdly, transport, where emissions are actually going up! The commitment in the industrial strategy to accelerating the development of electric vehicles is welcome. But the UK government still has a significant job to do to if we’re to phase out conventional crop biofuels, replacing them instead with sustainable waste-based fuels for aviation, shipping and freight. So, knowing that emissions are already going the wrong way, and then announcing a commitment to build a third runway at Heathrow… This drives the proverbial coach and horses – flies an Airbus A380 – through the fifth carbon budget. Expansion in aviation emissions only makes targets harder to reach, and puts more pressure on the other sectors to decarbonise.

All of which is why we’re anxious to see and to influence an ambitious and clear emissions reduction plan. As the millions who took part in WWF’s Earth Hour on 25 March showed, people want action on climate change: two thirds of the public are clear that climate change is happening and is caused by humans; 80% and 73% respectively worry about harm to wildlife and increased flooding as a result.

We need a plan for tackling those problems – a plan for reducing emissions – and we need it now. This is urgent.

WWF and others have been working on the issues of food and climate change for many years. The food system is one of the main drivers of climate change. However many people do not link the two. Many climate change discussions focus on energy. When you talk to people about the most pressing climate issues […]

Many climate change discussions focus on energy. When you talk to people about the most pressing climate issues we think of fossil fuels, frakking or transport. Very few of us think of the 21 billion chickens clucking around this planet or the cows and sheep dotted all over our hills. This is a bit of an oversight considering food is responsible for between 20% and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions (depending on whether you include indirect impacts such as land use change).

The livestock sector alone accounts for 14.5%, the same as all of transport. Based on business as usual if we continue to turn a blind eye to the impact of food, by 2050 the 2 degree Paris target will be met by the food system alone. In other words every other sector will need to drop to 0 emissions to meet the 2 degree and accommodate food.

Things are changing

The IPCC identified climate change as a significant threat to global and local food security. Climate change had already cut into the global food supply. One of the most striking impacts of climate change in the decades ahead will be declining yields in key crops, such as wheat, rice and maize. Fish catches in some areas of the tropics are projected to fall by between 40% and 60%. Other fisheries will move to colder waters; look at the Mackerel fisheries migrating to Icelandic and Faros waters, where fishing quotas are being increased as a result.
The IPCC has suggested that climate change needs to be reframed as a food security issue.

Thriving future farms and fisheries

Any food business that wants to thrive in a changing world will head these warnings and look to a new model; one that is less reliant on resource-intensive foods, oil, pesticides, fertilizers and grain. Not only will it became harder to produce these foods, it will be harder to ignore their impacts and it will cost more to produce them. These price increases will be passed on to customers, who will in turn demand low prices, or switch to cheaper food, ideally ones which require less inputs, such as plant-based foods.

We need to start thinking in a new way, looking at solutions in every part of the food system from agricultural practices to consumption patterns. We need to develop a system that is resilient and resource efficient, which supplies good food to all, not just calories. It must leave space for forests – the lungs of the planet – as well as soil, land and aquatic biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems.

We already produce enough food to feed over 10 billion people, and we are making huge strides forward in our understanding of agricultural practices, technology and diets. We just need to accelerate these practices and embrace the change.

The food system can mitigate some of the effects of climate change through such methods as reforestation and peat land restoration. Moving to more plant based eating is another great way to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We will need less land to grow feed or to graze animals all while enhancing our health .

We are all agents for change

The food we eat will change. What we are able to feed our children and grandchildren will depend on what we do about climate change, and whether we are rich or poor. Our choices matter, what we put in our baskets can make a real difference.
We have demonstrated leadership with food and climate change. For the last 7 years we have shown the link between what we eat and carbon with our Livewell work. No you don’t have to give up meat or pudding. Making sustainable choices is really simple and tasty. We are part of Peas Please which celebrates veg and makes it easy for us all to eat more.

We can have a varied plant based diet that helps us reduce our carbon footprint. Eating is one of our last connections to nature and wildlife. If think about it fish are the last wild food most of us eat. We make choices about food 3 times a day. If we make sure these are sustainable choices we can show leadership and take a huge step forward in tackling climate change.
At Earth Hour we have worked with chefs and restaurants to demonstrate how easy and tasty it is. Let’s take a bite out of climate change by what we put on our plates. Tell our leaders that we want action on climate change across the board.

The theme of international women’s day this year is women in the changing world of work so I wanted to celebrate some of the women who have inspired me in my work at WWF. It’s exciting to see more women in activism, businesses and politics join together to fight climate change and smash gender stereotypes. […]

]]>The theme of international women’s day this year is women in the changing world of work so I wanted to celebrate some of the women who have inspired me in my work at WWF. It’s exciting to see more women in activism, businesses and politics join together to fight climate change and smash gender stereotypes.

And thank goodness that more women are getting involved in this issue, because in the energy and climate sector, women still have a long way to go to achieve equal representation. Research by PWC found that only 5% of executive board seats in top 100 UK-headquartered energy firms are held by women. And it’s even more problematic when you consider that women and girls will be disproportionally affected by climate change. This is because, around the world, climate change will have more of an impact on the poorest people who rely on the land for their livelihoods or who are less able to respond to natural hazards like droughts, landslides, floods and hurricanes. The majority of the world’s least well off are women, and ingrained sexist structures may mean that they are more vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate.

But whilst women may be more exposed to the effects of climate change, women also have the potential to be a big part of the solution. Some of the things that make women more vulnerable to a changing climate also make us more persuasive advocates for taking action. For example, in developing countries the burden of food harvesting and water collection falls mostly on women and girls. This means that women often have a better understanding of how climate change is affecting their communities, making them trusted ambassadors for climate adaptation. In the global north women drive 80 per cent of all consumer purchasing decisions, giving us huge influence over retailers and brands.

So here are just five of my favourite inspirational women who are blazing a trail to change the work place and save the planet at the same time. And there’s a load more where they came from!

Christiana Figueres

Christiana Figueres the former Executive Secretary the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN body that is in charge of international climate negotiations. She is possibly also the only senior UN official to have a moth named after her (Struthoscelis christianafigueresae if you were wondering). She assumed responsibility for the UNFCCC after the failed Copenhagen conference of 2009 where countries failed to agree a global plan to reduce emissions. Over the next six years she dedicated herself to rebuilding the global climate change negotiating process based on the values of fairness, transparency and collaboration. One of a crack team of awesome women at the Paris conference, in 2015 she was instrumental in securing the Paris Agreement, where 195 countries committed to keep global temperature rise “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.

In Lancashire a group of nanas, angered by the prospect of fracking in their communities, have joined together to stand up against fracking. The nanas embody “what the Lancastrian matriarch stands for: rolling her sleeves up, getting things done, but still having time for a nice cup of tea”.

They first came together in August 2014 when the group of around 25 Lancashire grandmothers peacefully set up camp in a field near Blackpool that Cuadrilla had earmarked for shale gas exploration. For three weeks the nanas, their children and grandchildren handed out free tea and cake to raise awareness of the dangers of fracking and the camp became a community hub attended by many people. Since then the nanas have broadened their efforts to support other communities in their campaigning against fracking. There are now nanas in every corner of the country – and they are a force to be reckoned with.

Dr Emily Shukburgh

Dr Emily Shuckburgh is a climate scientist and deputy head of the Polar Oceans Team at the British Antarctic Survey, which is focused on understanding the role of the polar oceans in the global climate system. She is co-author with HRH The Prince of Wales and Tony Juniper of the Ladybird Experts guide to Climate Change.

Emily works tirelessly to inspire the public to engage in climate action, which is why she’s joining us this year to help promote Earth Hour, the world’s biggest collective demonstration on climate change.

Winona LaDuke

Winona LaDuke is a Native American activist, writer, and environmentalist of Ojibwe ancestry. She helped found the Indigenous Women’s Network in 1985, and much of her work involves the reclamation and preservation of tribal lands. She is the executive director of the group Honor the Earth. She lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota and has spent years successfully fighting the Sandpiper pipeline, a pipeline similar to Dakota Access. She is now one of many indigenous activists protesting against the Dakota Access pipeline in support of the Standing Rock tribe.

Juliet Davenport

Juliet Davenport OBE is the founder and CEO of Good Energy, one of the UK’s first entirely renewable electricity supplier and generator companies. A true renewable industry entrepreneur, Juliet built Good Energy from scratch in 1999. Her mission then, as it is now, was to tackle climate change, help deliver energy security for the UK, and give consumers the opportunity to buy and invest in 100% renewable electricity.

If you’ve been inspired to take action on climate by this blog, get involved in Earth Hour 2017 to show your support for action on climate change on 25 March at 8.30pm.

I have always been interested in wildlife and the natural environment as well as a keen photographer. About 14 years ago I started to read more about climate change in scientific journals. At the time I was looking for a bit more focus for my photographic work. Decision made, I would organise my first climate […]

]]>I have always been interested in wildlife and the natural environment as well as a keen photographer. About 14 years ago I started to read more about climate change in scientific journals. At the time I was looking for a bit more focus for my photographic work. Decision made, I would organise my first climate change photo shoot.

In 2004 I spent a month in Alaska looking mainly at glacial retreat, permafrost melt, and forest fires. The last part of the trip was to spend a week on Shishmaref, a tiny island in the Chukchi Sea, between Alaska and Siberia. The small island is home to a community of around 600 Inuits, whose houses were being washed into the sea. Sea ice used to form around their island home around late September, but with the Arctic being the most rapidly warming area of the planet, even in 2004, the sea ice wasn’t forming till Christmas time. This meant any early winter storms knocked great chunks off their island, when in the past it would have been protected and locked solid by sea ice.

I was to witness on Shishmaref something that I have seen many time since, that is, those least responsible for climate change are most impacted by it. The whole experience completely blew me away. The evidence that the Arctic was warming rapidly was so strong, coupled with talking to Inuit elders about the changes they had witnessed in their lifetime, left me in no doubt that this was serious issue.

My next photo shoot took me to Tuvalu, a tiny Pacific coral island country (the smallest country in the world) that was being swamped by sea level rise. More people climb Everest every year than visit Tuvalu. I timed my trip to this little known archipelago for the highest spring tides of the year. What I saw was completely shocking. With a flat calm sea, the tides rose so high, that they forced water up through the porous coral, flooding the centre of the island and leaving it in places three feet under water. The inhabitants, mainly Polynesian fishermen were utterly defenceless. Shocked by what I had seen and the clear evidence that sea levels were on the rise, the plan soon formulated in my head that I should make it my life’s work to document the impacts of climate change and the rise of renewable energy on every continent.

I started on a journey that I had to finish. There followed photo shoots to cover drought and bush fires in Australia, coal fired power stations in China, glacial retreat in Greenland, floods in Malawi, glacial retreat in Bolivia, drought and the world’s largest solar power station in California, renewable energy in Iceland, floating houses to combat floods and rising seas in Holland, declining penguin populations in Antarctica, declining snow pack in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, the list goes on and on. I wanted to cover three main topics. What is causing climate change, the impacts this is having and what we can do about it.

On any journey like this there are inevitably high and lows, I certainly witnessed some heart-breaking environmental disasters. I documented the tar sands in Canada’s Northern Alberta, the most destructive environmental project on the planet. The rate of deforestation is second only to the Amazon rainforest, and the resulting synthetic oil has up to five times the carbon footprint of crude oil. Taking to the air the scale of the devastation is breathtaking. As far as the eye can see, the forest has been destroyed and in its place a toxic wasteland of oily sludge is the legacy of greed that has driven this insanity.

Thirteen years on I feel like I’ve been through the mangle. I’ve come close to being avalanched in the Himalayas, broken through a snow bridge over a crevasse on the Greenland ice sheet, narrowly avoiding plummeting to the bottom and also being fleeced by my guide in China.
From my worldwide travels, it is clear that climate change has accelerated entirely due to our own choices and actions and we are sleep walking towards disaster. The impacts on people, wildlife and the environment I have witnessed over the last thirteen years have at times been horrifying. We know what we need to do: I have seen the future with my own eyes; it is a clean renewable alternative. We need keep fossil fuels in the ground, start using energy more wisely and truly valuing what it can provide for humanity. Only then may we stand a chance of avoiding the worst excesses of climate change.

It has been an amazing journey, and from this I have amassed the world’s single largest collection of climate change/renewable energy images which have just been published in an art photographic book entitled “Images From a Warming Planet”. Jonathon Porritt wrote the foreword for the book and called it “An extraordinary collection of images and a powerful call to action”.

Hear more of Ashley’s 13 year mission

Ashley Cooper will be joining WWF at our home, the Living Planet Centre in Woking, on Wednesday 22nd March to share more of his incredible stories and images. Book your place on Ashley’s talk to hear more about his amazing journey around our planet.

This talk is part of Earth Hour; WWF’s wordwide campaign encouraging everyone to take action and protect our beautiful planet from climate change, sign up to be part of Earth Hour.

It can feel like a real chore getting active in the evenings throughout winter. With the dark evenings, all too often we find ourselves collapsing in front of the TV as soon as we get home from work. But as Earth Hour fast approaches why not get out in nature? Darkness can be a source […]

]]>It can feel like a real chore getting active in the evenings throughout winter. With the dark evenings, all too often we find ourselves collapsing in front of the TV as soon as we get home from work. But as Earth Hour fast approaches why not get out in nature? Darkness can be a source of inspiration too, if you look in the right places!

Look up at the night sky on your way home from work or school, and you’re unlikely to pick out more than a handful of stars in amongst the glow of light polluted cities. Due to thousands of artificial light sources, the beauty of the night sky is hidden behind the fuzzy glow.

Forestry Commission England woods and forests are great places to escape from this. Many of their sites boast Dark Sky or Milky Way status and awards, which means you get a truly magnificent view of the stars above you.

But where to start? It can be a little daunting breaking the routine and heading out into the woods with no direction. That’s why Forestry Commission England have put together a handy Beginner’s Guide to Stargazing for this year’s Earth Hour with top tips and constellations to spot. They’ve also developed a brilliant interactive map, so you can find where the best forests are for clear night skies.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to capture your experience to share it with your friends on Instagram and Facebook. Check out some top tips for getting the best night sky photo, and share it with #ForestStar and #EarthHourUK.

If you’re looking for inspiration for where to go, here are Forestry Commission England’s top picks for making sure you get a great view of the stars:

Dalby Forest (Yorkshire)

Yorkshire’s Dalby Forest was awarded the Milky Way Class of the Dark Sky Discovery award in January 2013. That puts it amongst the top sites in the country for seeing the beauty of the sky above you.

Queen Elizabeth Country Park (South)

Grab your coat and head up to Butser Hill in Queen Elizabeth Country Park to view the night sky like you’ve never seen it before. Butser Hill boasts the highest observing point in Hampshire, so it is a pretty magnificent place to view the night sky all year round.

Gisburn Forest (North)

Gisburn Forest is Dark Sky Discovery Site and is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You’re not going to be troubled by light pollution here!

With meteor showers and views of the Milky Way commonly seen here, this is a forest you’ll want to visit again and again!

Hamsterley Forest (North)

Hamsterley Forest is County Durham’s largest forest located in the North Pennines AONB. The Dark Sky Site is near the start of the Riverside Trail located by the bridge.

Hamsterley is one of many Forestry Commission England sites to host a ‘Why Stars Matter’ trail in the early months of 2017. These fantastic family trails help you learn about the stars above you, and their significance to your life.

Kielder Forest and Observatory (North)

Kielder Forest joins with Northumberland National Park to form part of England’s first and only Official Dark Sky Park, making it England’s top forest location for stargazing.

Their world renowned observatory gives stargazers a unique perspective on the wonders of space. Make sure to book well in advance – this is a real stargazer favourite.

Want to know more?

For more information, and to find out about Forestry Commission England & WWF Earth Hour events head to www.forestry.gov.uk/stargazing Or to find out about Earth Hour and a stargazing event near you go to

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/earth-hour/see-sky-like-never/feed/0A Day In The Life Of An Earth Hour Internhttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/earth-hour/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-earth-hour-intern/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/earth-hour/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-earth-hour-intern/#respondFri, 15 Apr 2016 09:33:30 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=20738

After three months of working in the wonderful Earth Hour team here at WWF, I’ve been reflecting on the things that I’ve learn’t and achieved in such a short amount of time. This is my story… For anyone who is trying to bust their way into the world of NGOs and charity work, you’ll know […]

]]>After three months of working in the wonderful Earth Hour team here at WWF, I’ve been reflecting on the things that I’ve learn’t and achieved in such a short amount of time. This is my story…

For anyone who is trying to bust their way into the world of NGOs and charity work, you’ll know how hard it is. It can feel like a never ending catch 22 of needing experience for a role, but being unable to find anywhere that will take you on for lack of experience. ‘Internship’ has become one of the defining words of ‘generation Y’, often shrouded in a stigma of free work and becoming a pro at making tea. I know it well – I’ve been there first hand! My time here however, has been completely different to all of those stereotypes. It’s been a fantastic three months packed full of highs.

If you don’t know, Earth Hour is the largest global celebration for the future of our planet where people, landmarks and organisations across the world switch out their lights in a symbolic display. It’s huge, and with such a huge project comes a lot of work. But if I had to sum up my experience during Earth Hour in four words, what would they be?

Diverse

We all know what an incredibly huge organisation this is with projects spanning the entire world. The breadth of it’s conservation programmes is astonishing: from species conservation to climate change; from creating methods of sourcing food sustainably to helping people to live more eco-friendly lives.

Due to the diversity of projects, it follows that day-to-day working life here is also extremely, well, diverse! There aren’t many jobs you can head home from each night and tell a completely new story about. I can still picture my partner’s look of confusion when I came home one evening and described how I was asked to wear a panda costume that afternoon and lie on the floor outside surrounded by tiny panda toys for a photo shoot. It’s almost a mandatory requirement of the internship that each of the interns has to don the panda costume at one point or another.

Aside from the hilarious stories, the more day to day tasks were also diverse. One morning I was in London helping to film a cook-along video with Tom Aikens, and the next afternoon I was putting together a news story for the website and all of the social posts to go with it. From Photoshop and Hootsuite to more internal systems, you’re always learning a new trick or tool that could be applicable to a future role.

Empowerment

Although Earth Hour involves working together as a team, everyone takes ownership of certain aspects of the project, which means there’s plenty of room for you as an intern to muck in and manage a project of your own. I found that I was encouraged from the very first week to take an idea and run with it. Each year for Earth Hour a competition is launched called Hidden Heroes and this year it was decided that it needed a revamp to try and encourage new entries.

Instead of taking on a hunt to find the UK’s greenest hidden champions, we set out to find new and innovative ideas for making a workplace, school or community more eco-friendly. I was asked to manage it from start to finish, which involved writing social strategies and promotional plans as well as putting website copy together and working with the PR team to promote the competition. Seeing something through from start to finish was an exceptional feeling!

Connected

Whilst working on a project that titles itself as a celebration for the future of our planet, it makes sense to learn as much as possible about all the amazing projects the organisation is working on, right? I was encouraged to set up meetings with project leaders and people in different departments to gain insights into how the organisation worked as a whole. From supporting rhino conservation in Africa and working to double wild tiger numbers, to creating sustainable fishing practices for companies around the globe and restoring fresh water sources – the sheer breadth of projects presented during lunch time lectures and email alerts is amazing. Not only did speaking to so many inspiring people excite me even more for Earth Hour, it also gave me a fantastic insight into the different directions it’s possible to take your career here.

Proud

It gets pretty hectic during the months running up to the final switch off event, with everyone working hard to spread the message of Earth Hour as far and wide as possible. Chocolate is a necessity to get everyone through the final weeks of writing content for the website and organising the ‘on the night’ event – but once the night hits and the lights are out, I felt a real sense of pride at what you were a part of.

Millions of people from a phenomenal 178 countries switched off their lights and celebrated our brilliant planet. My role on the night here in the UK was to keep track of the Earth Hour Facebook page and reply to supporters. It was wonderful seeing all of the positive photos and comments coming in from people holding candlelit dinner parties or playing board games with the family in the dark. That’s when I realised the sheer scale of what the project was doing and how it was inspiring different people across the country and around the world.

I can’t rave enough about my time here and I was lucky enough to be asked to stay on for a while and work on different projects. I’ve really felt part of a team that are making a huge difference to wildlife populations around the world – but it isn’t just wildlife. I was amazed at all of the collaborative work going on with corporations that are working hard to change their practices and make positive impacts on the planet. Earth Hour is such a global and inspiring event, that working as an intern really gives you the opportunity to see how everything comes together behind the scenes in an amazing charity like this.

Have you ever seen a fully grown man wearing a panda onesie cycling down the street in London? We have! For Earth Hour this year a group of keen cyclists called IBikeLondon took to the streets to show they care about the future of our planet. Once the disco lights had been attached and all […]

We IBikers love any opportunity to cycle around the city with our disco bikes and bring the buzz with us wherever we go. What’s a better excuse to party, than to help raise awareness about climate change?

This time we took part in Earth Hour, which is organised by WWF. This global celebration sees iconic buildings all over the world switch off their lights for one hour to send a symbolic message to show how much they care about the future of our planet. IBikeLondon helped spread the message by hosting a fancy dress Earth Hour Night Ride through the streets of London. What more would you want to do on Saturday night? We brought along our infamous disco bikes with killer sound systems and donned our playful panda onsies (kindly lent to us by WWF). Our terrific cyclists wore it wild by dressing up as their favourite endangered animals (and some mythical ones too!) and lit up their bikes to add some radiance to the ride.

We kicked off at the usual spot under Waterloo Bridge just before sunset, the usual suspects were present as well as quite a few newcomers! Approximately 150 riders took to the streets of London following our Disco Panda in their wildest wear as we took a route along the Cut through Southwark to our first pit stop (and to wave at the mayor!) at City Hall.

After a couple of circuits around the mayor’s office, we rolled on across Tower Bridge through the city, passing the famous Ai WeiWei bike sculpture at the Gherkin, through the Barbican and Smithfield Market. We followed the Disco Panda down to St. Paul’s Cathedral where we took a little break at Paternoster Square for a quick refuel. Our disco bikes started an impromptu party with some epic scratching on our sound systems to keep the buzz going!

We continued down along Embankment testing out the new Superhighway towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We were lucky enough to see the switch off! A quick loop around Parliament Square & then we rolled on across Vauxhall Bridge and then back towards the Southbank. It was really moving witnessing these iconic buildings switch off their lights, and experiencing the darkness of the city as we rode along the river.

We ended the ride at the infamous Leak Street Tunnel hosting an impromptu tunnel party, where we broke out our smoke machine and lighting it up with our LEDS and Dynamos. It was awesome to be able to take part in such an iconic an important event and spread the message about saving our planet. We want people to continue enjoying the streets of London and to spend more time outside cycling and walking, one of the many reasons to continue fight to save our planet! All in all, it was another awesome night ride and a huge thanks to everyone that came. Oh and thankfully no one got hurt.

When we spent a year buying nothing new a couple of years ago, lots of people asked me at the end of it what I had learned from the year. And although I learned lots of really useful, practical skills, the biggest thing I learned is that the actions we take every day make a […]

]]>When we spent a year buying nothing new a couple of years ago, lots of people asked me at the end of it what I had learned from the year. And although I learned lots of really useful, practical skills, the biggest thing I learned is that the actions we take every day make a difference. And if we can make better choices everyday, we really actually make big change from quite small steps.

This quote from Jane Goodall that I stumbled across this week sums it up really well:

“It starts very simply. Just take a little time to learn more about the consequences of the small choices you make each day.”

At the start of this year, I decided to embark on a new challenge, to help spread the word that we can all make small changes in our every day lives, that all add up to living a much more sustainable lifestyle. I’m calling it ‘365 Ways to Change the World’, and serendipitously, it fits in really well with WWF’s #greenlivingtips campaign.

Earth Hour is approaching fast, and it’s such a great, simple way for people to show the world that they care, and that they think our planet is worth saving.

There are lots of other easy, simple ways to make small changes for a more sustainable lifestyle, beyond Earth Hour. Here are my top tips:

1. Turn off the lights

And not just for Earth Hour. Turn off the lights in any rooms you aren’t in, and encourage your kids to do the same. You could create a candelit dinner experience instead!

2. Ditch the tumble dryer

As the weather starts to warm up, and the sun starts to peek out from behind the seemingly ever present cloud of Winter, break out the washing line! It saves energy, and the sight of a full washing line whizzing around never fails to make me smile.

3. Sew on a button

One of the facts I learned during our year of ‘buying nothing new’, is that apparently the most common reason for clothing to be discarded is because it has lost a button (shocked face). Next time a button falls off spend five minutes sewing it back on. By extending the life of our clothes by just three months, it can decrease the carbon, water and waste footprint of that item by 5-10%.

4. Buy Fairtrade

Make the switch to Fairtrade for items such as sugar, coffee, chocolate and bananas. It means that the people producing these items for us are being paid a fair wage. The difference in cost is often negligible, but it can make a big difference to people’s lives.

5. Become a conscious consumer

Spending a year ‘buying nothing new’ really made me question everything that we were buying, and still influences the decisions I make every day. A year is possibly a little extreme for most people to contemplate, but I always really encourage people to try out a month, or even a week of ‘buying nothing new.’ Or start with one aspect of your life-lots of people seem to find clothes a good place to start. Once you come off auto-pilot and start thinking about what you are buying, and why, and where you are getting it from, it becomes much easier to make more sustainable choices.

6. Switch to a green energy provider

The perception is that a green energy provider will be more expensive than one of the “Big 6”, but when we made the switch we found that this isn’t the case. Ecotricity and Good Energy both provide very competitive tariffs for renewable energy and also offer excellent customer service.

7. Ditch the disposables

Take a look around your home and make a note of all the single use, disposable, items-things like baby wipes, cotton wool pads, and plastic bags. Then have a think about ways you can replace these items with reusable options. We took a big deep breath and went cold turkey on baby wipes a couple of years ago, making the switch to good old fashioned flannels instead, and I promise it was far easier than I thought it would be!

8. Embrace visible mending

I had never patched a pair of jeans until we were part way through our year ‘buying nothing new.’ Now, as the mother of two boys, it feels like I patch trousers at least once a week! I’m still not the neatest though, so there is no subtlety to my mends – they are very visible, and proudly so.

9. Spring clean your cleaning products

I’ve always been a little bit sceptical of blog posts telling me I can clean my entire house with vinegar and bicarb, but I recently decided to give it a go. And it works! I’ve phased out all of our various cleaning sprays, and replaced them with a spray bottle of white vinegar, and a large pack of bicarb.One or other of these, or a combination of the two, seems to work on most things.

10. Grow Your Own

I am not the most green-fingered of people, and we have a tiny garden, but last year we planted out various seeds to grow some vegetables, and for the first time I started to appreciate why so many people enjoyed this thing called gardening.

Growing your own can be incredibly frustrating when things don’t go to plan, but so, so rewarding when it works, and you get to harvest and eat your own produce. Even if you don’t have a garden, window boxes can be used for herbs, and has the added bonus of avoiding all that plastic packing too.

When it comes to sustainable living, it really is the little things that are the big things. And lots of them are really easy to implement, and cost nothing. Just pick one thing. Make a start. And then keep going. One baby step at a time.

Have you done or are you doing any of these things for your planet or for Earth Hour? Leave a comment and let us know.

I’m sure you’ve all heard that WWF’s Earth Hour 2016 is at 8.30pm on Saturday 19 March. We’re thrilled that Beca Lyne-Pirkis, star of series 4 of BBC One’s The Great British Bake Off and S4C’s Becws, is supporting our campaign in Wales this year. I’ve had a chat with her about what she’s doing […]

CRJ: And why is supporting Earth Hour – and tackling climate change – important to you?

BLP: I feel lucky to be on this wonderful and wondrous planet and want to make sure that my girls and future generations can get to enjoy and be amazed by it too. It does scare me how much the Earth has changed over the last century, but what’s even more scary is how much more it could change if we don’t do something to tackle climate change. Earth Hour aims to draw attention to climate change and how we can protect the Earth for future generations, let’s not spoil things and take this beautiful planet for granted.

CRJ: We’re really excited that you’ve prepared these wonderful, sustainable Earth Hour recipes for us. I’m sure everyone will want to cook them on the night – where we can we find them?

BLP: No problem at all! They’re great recipes to share with your friends and family. You can find all the details on the WWF’s Earth Hour website and then get them on the plate before you switch your lights off for Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday 19 March. My chocolate and ginger torte is delicious and will be a lovely treat to tuck into during the Hour – check out how to make it below.

CRJ: Food is a great way of communicating with people, isn’t it? How do you think our supporters can use food as a way of talking about the effects of climate change?

BLP: My advice is to try and eat seasonally, this will also make your supporters eat locally. The food will not only taste better but they’ll also be kinder to your wallet. Less food miles also means better for the environment. Also, try not to buy products in packaging – it annoys me when you see vegetables loose and wrapped in plastic on the shelves – ditch the packaging, it’s also cheaper! I’m also a stickler for wasting food – if you see things approaching their ‘best before’ date, make something with it and freeze it.

CRJ: Living in an environmentally-responsible way and thinking about how we can be more sustainable is very important. What do you do to be more ‘green’?

BLP: For me, it’s showing a good example to my two young girls and getting them to be mindful about the environment. From recycling to turning the tap off whilst brushing teeth. They may be little actions, but everything helps.

CRJ: You’ve recently moved back to Wales – that’s exciting! What are you most looking forward to about being back?

BLP: Cardiff has changed a lot since I moved away 10 years ago, but the big change is the food scene in Cardiff and Wales. I’m hugely proud of the fact that there’s a huge buzz about food in Wales and I’m looking forward to trying out all the new restaurants as well as discovering all the amazing food producers that we have in Wales.

CRJ: Food is obviously an important part of your life. Why is it important that we eat local and sustainable food?

BLP: There are so many reasons why we should eat local and sustainable food; from supporting local producers and communities, it helps reduce food miles, it’s better for the environment and it also educates us as to what’s seasonally British and good to eat.

CRJ: Thank you for taking the time to answer some of our questions – diolch o galon i ti. Finally, when can we next see you on-screen?

BLP: Well, I’m in the middle of filming the next series for S4C now and it should be back on your screens this Autumn!

How you can support Earth Hour

WWF’s Earth Hour is the global celebration of our brilliant planet. Everyone can sign up and add themselves to the map at www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour. Don’t forget to switch your lights off for an hour at 8.30pm on Saturday 19 March 2016 to make a symbolic display of your love for our planet.

You can find about more about Beca and what’s she up to by following her blog.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/green-sustainable-living/green-sustainable-living-food/why-bake-offs-beca-is-supporting-earth-hour-2016/feed/0Celebrate Earth Hour – 5 Days, 5 Wayshttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/earth-hour/celebrate-earth-hour-5-days-5-ways/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/earth-hour/celebrate-earth-hour-5-days-5-ways/#respondMon, 14 Mar 2016 16:28:51 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=20480Finally – the long awaited Earth Hour is within sight! We’ve been busy over the last few months getting ready for the biggest global environmental event. With just 5 days to go until the switch off, take a look at some of the events on near you that everyone can enjoy. From night bike rides […]

]]>Finally – the long awaited Earth Hour is within sight! We’ve been busy over the last few months getting ready for the biggest global environmental event. With just 5 days to go until the switch off, take a look at some of the events on near you that everyone can enjoy. From night bike rides and star lit walks, to the comfort of the theatre and candlelit fundraisers; see what we’ve been busy planning. Take a look at last years highlights to get inspired for this Saturday.

Get active

If you’re looking for something different to do to celebrate the planet, there are plenty of independently organised events taking place around the UK. IBikeLondon are known for bringing together hundreds of cyclists for group rides around different parts of London and Earth Hour presented the perfect opportunity for a night ride in fancy dress. The ride will begin underneath Waterloo bridge and end at Gabriels Warf, ready to watch the landmark switch offs at 8:30pm.

Enjoy dinner by candle light

Candlelit dinners are being prepared all around the country, with members of the Sustainable Restaurants Association such as Savoy, Oxo Tower, Brasserie Blanc and many more all producing fantastic sustainable dishes to match the relaxing ambiance that candle light provides. But it isn’t just top class venues that are inviting people for a bite to eat. Many of you have been writing in to let us know that you’re inviting your friends and family around for a candlelit evening of food, cocktails and quizzes to raise money for our vital work.

Experience nature by star light

We’ve teamed up with the Forestry Commission this year, who are putting on family friendly evenings in forests nationwide. From teaching your kids about how spiders eyes reflect and showing them all the different star constellations, to sharing stories and drinking hot chocolate around a camp fire; the Forestry Commission really do have all bases covered at their 8 venues. If you’re more of a homely explorer, fear not, they’ve covered that one too! On their website you can find downloadable activity sheets for the kids, teaching them all about creepy crawlies and tracking small animals in the garden.

Take a trip to the theatre

Not everybody is an outdoorsy person though and we certainly don’t all have the space to host dinner parties. Ambassador Theatre group have got that one covered, with 45 venues across the the UK, USA and Australia all getting involved in Earth Hour. Several of them with have a themed cocktail with £1 of the price being donated to WWF. They’ll also be asking you to take a photo with a panda for our #PassThePanda campaign and maybe even make a pledge as to what small change you could make in your life to live more sustainably.

Join the panda-monium

Talking of #PassThePanda… we’ve sent our furry toy panda friends on a mission to invite as many people as possible to join in this Earth Hour. If you have a panda toy to hand, take a selfie and post to social media with the hashtags #EarthHourUK and #PassThePanda. There are other ways to get involved too, such as adding a panda emoji into your twitter bio, or grabbing yourself an e-card to share with all of your friends. In previous years, the likes of Stephen Fry and Jack Whitehall all took the opportunity to show off their panda toys.

For everything going on, let’s not forget our very own Living Planet Centre in Woking. We’ve got an action packed day planned for anyone coming to visit us, with crafts for the kids, a local band called Sour Kix and plenty more to keep you entertained before the hour.

Last but not least, we have a staggering number of landmarks confirmed to be supporting us this year and switching off their lights. With Big Ben, The Gherkin, The Shard, Emirates Spinnaker Tower, Old Trafford stadium and many more all showing their support for the future of our planet.

Add your name and mark yourself on our interactive map. You can also see what’s going on near you this Earth Hour.

Are you getting involved this year? Comment below and let us know what you’ve got planned!

On Saturday evening at 8.30pm thousands of Scots will join millions around the world by switching off their lights to celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour. I’m often asked if taking part and switching off our lights makes a difference? The answer is yes it does. For many people the symbolic event is a catalyst for change, […]

]]>On Saturday evening at 8.30pm thousands of Scots will join millions around the world by switching off their lights to celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour.

I’m often asked if taking part and switching off our lights makes a difference? The answer is yes it does. For many people the symbolic event is a catalyst for change, with 84% of those who took part in Earth Hour last year saying they felt inspired to do more to help protect the planet.

That could be making responsible decisions when purchasing food and other goods, by buying local, sustainable products, using your voice to call for action on climate change from your MSPs, or raising funds to help protect people and nature around the world.

Last year Scotland took its place among 172 countries switching off, with iconic landmarks such as Edinburgh Castle and, for the first time, the beautiful Kelpies joining the symbolic moment of care for the planet. They joined communities around the world including island states like Tahiti, that are already feeling the impacts of climate change, to cities such as Paris where world leaders reached an historic agreement to tackle climate change in December. Earth Hour mobilises millions of people, and that can’t and shouldn’t be ignored by decision makers.

So you get the picture that the bar has been set pretty high for this year’s event. To encourage people to get together with family and friends we’re asking people to hold a candlelit dinner on Saturday evening and send us selfies on social media so we can share with everyone else taking part. Keeping the cooking theme going, Great British Bake Off star Flora Shedden helped launch Earth Hour in Scotland by inviting us into her kitchen and providing an exclusive Earth Hour recipe for people to try on the night. We’re also delighted to again have the support of WWF Global Ambassador Andy Murray who’s encouraging people to take part, saying ‘Our planet is incredible and it’s up to us to make sure we take care of it for the next generation. “

As the excitement around Earth Hour 2016 grows, the #PassThePanda phenomenon has taken off on social media, with Scotland’s political leaders, local authorities, organisations such as Historic Environment Scotland and Scottish Canals, theatres and even wrestlers enthusiastically taking part, with the aim of spreading the word and getting even more people to sign up.

The sporting world is also limbering up to take part with Heart of Midlothain FC, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the home of Scottish rugby, BT Murrayfield stadium, switching off.

However the beauty of Earth Hour is it’s not just about big organisations taking part. Every year I’m delighted to see local community groups, libraries, town monuments, cafes, friends and neighbours sign up and get together for the planet.

Churches and places of worship are again planning events up and down the country and for the first time Edinburgh Central Mosque has signed up.

WWF is working for a future where people and nature thrive and that includes safeguarding the environment for future generations. That’s why it’s so important young people get involved and we’re fortunate that our schools and nurseries are helping spread the Earth Hour message and encouraging pupils and parents to go ‘beyond the hour’.

YoungScot, the national youth information and citizenship charity, is also getting involved by offering members YoungScot rewards points for Earth Hour activities.

The amazing creativity, enthusiasm and energy of every single person who signs up to switch off for Earth Hour feeds in to the real, tangible change we can achieve together when we go beyond the hour.

With Earth Hour fast approaching on the 19 March, 8:30pm; we’ve been looking back at some of the inspirational stories to come from previous years campaigns. Simon Jakeman is a London Firefighter, who became an ambassador for Earth Hour after being nominated a Green Hero back in 2013. His job puts him in direct contact […]

]]>With Earth Hour fast approaching on the 19 March, 8:30pm; we’ve been looking back at some of the inspirational stories to come from previous years campaigns. Simon Jakeman is a London Firefighter, who became an ambassador for Earth Hour after being nominated a Green Hero back in 2013. His job puts him in direct contact with the devastating effects of climate change on a daily basis, so we caught up with him to see what heroic actions he’s been taking to make a difference to our planet.

As part of Earth Hour In 2013, the team set out on a mission to find the UK’s greenest citizens doing amazing work for their planet. Simon Jakeman, an Eco – Firefighter in London, was a proud winner of the work place category, having been nominated for his incredible roof garden on top of Kingston Fire station. Following his win, he’s been crowned as ‘London’s Greenest Firefighter’ and has been making his mark on the local community and the entirety of London since. We caught up with him to find out what he’s been up to and what his plans for the future are.

I’ve heard you had a first-hand experience handling the floods not long ago. Tell us how this inspired you to get into action, helping to save the planet.

I’ve been a Firefighter now for 20 years and in that time I have evacuated flooded homes by Boat, Pumped flood water, chased Wildfires and picked up the pieces after Storms. I really am on the front line of an increased frequency of extreme weather due to Climate Change. Really it was seeing how the effects of Climate change were drastically altering people’s daily lives and putting them at risk that inspired me to act on climate and “rescue the planet”.

Since winning WWF’s Hidden Heroes competition, what have you gone on to do to inspire your local community?

Since winning WWF’s Hidden Heroes Competition back in 2013, the Fire Station roof garden has grown even more and inspired many people in the local community to make small changes for the future of our planet. Schools and youth groups, local environmental groups, a local wildlife group, residents Councillors and our MP have all visited the garden her at the fire station. I’m hopeful it has given them all a little nudge to do their bit too.

The station roof garden itself has recently been featured in a book called ‘My Tiny Garden’, which features urban gardens across the globe; from New York and San Francisco, to Tokyo and Surbiton. It’s a great achievement and a fantastic way to inspire others all over the world to pick up their garden tools and create something of their own.

I’ve been working hard to spread the message for a sustainable future far and wide! Not too long ago I acted as a representative for a local wildlife group her in Kingston; presenting a video they had created for a competition. I’m extremely proud to say that they were awarded the prize money and have plans to rejuvenate a green space and pond in the town centre. On top of this, my local Councillors recently voted me on to the council’s neighborhood committee and I was given the title of Community Advisor.

London Fire Brigade have made me their Super Green Champion, which means that I frequently give presentations and talks to London’s front line watches, admin personnel and HQ staff on how they could make their work place more eco–friendly to combat climate change. My presentations include a bit of everything from energy saving and recycling to encouraging biodiversity and reducing car use. I’ve even had reps from other Fire Brigades attend my presentation and a London Assembly Member from London’s City Hall.

What’s your next conservation goal?

Where do I start! My next conservation goal is to get my whole town, borough and maybe even the whole city going green! I’m well on my way to ‘greening’ London from within having given my presentation to over 140 fire brigade watches across London in 2015. This year I’ll be doing the same, but I’ll be presenting to over 400 watches and over 100 fire stations. A few of the ways I’m thinking of doing this, is to encourage the local town to plant wild flowers for pollinators such as bee’s and butterfly’s in the main shopping area. I’ve even been thinking of ways we could potentially get bee hives on the fire stations!

As a WWF UK Earth Hour Ambassador, why do you believe Earth Hour is important and what will you be doing on the 19 March?

Earth Hour is so important. Not only does it shine a light on threats to our incredible species and habitats such as climate change, but it also encourages us all to do our bit for the planet. Small Steps really do add up. Earth Hour is a great opportunity to take that first step and join millions of others who care about our planet others across the world.

I’ll be joining the Earth Hour team this year in London for their on the night event at County Hall Marriott. As it’s overlooking the Thames it will be fantastic to see all the huge landmarks such as Big Ben switching off to show their support.

And finally, if you could encourage people to take one small life style change, what advice would you give them?

If I could encourage people to take one small life style change, I would want them to realise you can make a difference. You may think one person can’t make a difference, but you really can! I simply decided one day to grow some tomatoes in a bucket on a fire station roof, got up… and did it. I’m really proud of how far and wide my actions have spread and hope to see more people doing the same in the future.

Has Simon inspired you to make a change and help your community become more eco-friendly? Comment below and let us know what your plans are this Earth Hour.
If you haven’t already, add yourself to our interactive map and find out more about how you can get involved on March 19, 8:30pm.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/green-sustainable-living/firefighting-for-our-planet/feed/0Pulses: good for you and good for the planethttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/green-sustainable-living/green-sustainable-living-food/pulses-good-for-you-and-good-for-the-planet/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/green-sustainable-living/green-sustainable-living-food/pulses-good-for-you-and-good-for-the-planet/#respondWed, 02 Mar 2016 11:10:28 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=20362

Baked beans, hummus, falafels, soups, stews, curries, tacos, dals. All these foods have one main ingredient in common – pulses, the botanical name for dried beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. There are many new and innovative ways to use these humble ingredients to make great tasting, affordable and healthy meals. For instance, you could try […]

]]>Baked beans, hummus, falafels, soups, stews, curries, tacos, dals. All these foods have one main ingredient in common – pulses, the botanical name for dried beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. There are many new and innovative ways to use these humble ingredients to make great tasting, affordable and healthy meals.

For instance, you could try green banana and beluga lentil fritters with coconut salsa and chilli coulis. Or tempt your taste buds with a broad bean and chickpea falafel with sprouted lentil tabbouleh and schoog (spicy Yemenite relish). The opportunities are endless!

6 January marked the official UK launch of the United Nations’ International Year of Pulses. Millions joined together around the globe to raise awareness of the benefits of Pulses at celebratory Pulse Feast events, in 141 different locations across the world. 20.8 million people took part through social media in celebrating the official launch.

Why celebrate Pulses in 2016?

The United Nations has declared 2016 as The International Year of Pulses (IYoP) to draw attention to the nutritional power of these foods. They’re healthy, nutritious, affordable and sustainable, and with a renewed focus on these benefits, they are pinned to become the new go-to staple for chefs, nutritionists, and all those who want to minimise their impact on the environment in 2016.

“Society today faces many challenges: diabetes, global warming, obesity, water scarcity, cardiovascular disease, biodiversity, nutrient deficiency, nitrogen depletion, cancer (and the list goes on). In each case, pulses are part of the solution. They are the golden thread woven through the fabric of the more balanced and sustainable world we all wish to see” said Milan Shah of IYP UK Promotion Group.

Why are Pulses good for the planet?

The growing interest in many countries with flexitarianism (a plant-based diet with the occasional inclusion of meat product) and the recent comments by Arnold Schwarzenegger highlight the challenge faced by those concerned to make their diets match their sustainability and climate change ethics.

Pulses have a number of environmental positives: they use less water than other protein sources, less fertilizer and have a low carbon footprint. Pulses already play an important role in Food Security in the Developing world, as well as Pulses being a cornerstone ingredient in Humanitarian Food Aid.

Why are Pulses good for health and nutrition?

One of the reasons that 2016 has been declared as the International Year of Pulses is that Pulses are a vital source of plant-based proteins and amino acids for people around the globe. They can help improve human health, including diabetes prevention and control, reductions in heart disease and cholesterol, and anaemia prevention. Pulses have a low glycaemic index and can help combat obesity.

In fact, a recent North American study has shown that eating a cup of pulses every day (circa 130g) can reduce ‘bad’ or LDL cholesterol by five percent thereby lowering the risk of heart disease.

Several chefs, food celebrities and organisations around the globe are already supporting the International Year of Pulses, including Chef Jenny Chandler (@jennychandleruk), the Eating Better Alliance and of course, WWF-UK.

How do I get involved in the International Year of Pulses?

From a staple ingredient to a gourmet dish, pulses are a healthy and affordable way to expand your recipe repertoire. The International Year of Pulses is supporting WWF’s Earth Hour on Saturday 19 March. To celebrate our beautiful planet, think about hosting a candle-lit dinner and try one of our amazing recipes, available at http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/theme/recipes/

For more information on events taking place throughout the year, recipe inspiration or to take the Pulse Pledge, visit www.Pulses.Org. If you create any pulse based recipes at home, we’d love for you to share them on this blog, Instagram (@lovepulses) and Twitter (@LovePulses). Don’t forget to include @wwf_uk

Even for cynical grown-ups, there is something a bit magical about candlelight. The restaurant I was in for Earth Hour decided they liked the darkness so much, they would leave the lights off after the hour was over! A few days after the event itself, I find myself sifting through photos captured on the night. […]

Even for cynical grown-ups, there is something a bit magical about candlelight.

The restaurant I was in for Earth Hour decided they liked the darkness so much, they would leave the lights off after the hour was over!

A few days after the event itself, I find myself sifting through photos captured on the night.

There are the landmarks that switched off and took on a different quality.

Caernarfon castle loomed large in the darkness. The Senedd switched off in support, echoing the AMs from all parties who joined our event. The Millennium Centre went green (they had a performance on so took a different approach).

It was lovely to see the photos of you enjoying Earth Hour too. This year we had a ‘dine in the dark’ theme and many restaurants across Wales got involved, from Plas Bodegroes in Pwllheli to Milgi in Cardiff.

And how wonderful to see so many of you enjoying Earth Hour at home. We saw loads of creative #LightsOutCymru tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram photos – all helping to get the message out there.

One of your candlelit dinners – shared on Twitter with #LightsOutCymru. Photo: Hilary May

As for me and the WWF Cymru team, it’s been brilliant being part of this year’s Earth Hour. I think what makes it so special is feeling part of a world-wide action. I love the idea that flicking off the light switch here in Wales follows millions of others in time zones ahead of ours, and will be followed by millions more across the atlantic.

It’s a lot of fun and hopefully a strong reminder that people do care about our world.

So how was it for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next year – thank you so much for your support. Diolch o galon.

Thanks from the WWF Cymru team! The panda’s called Pippa, in case you were wondering. Photo: Betina Skovbro / WWF Cymru

For me, Earth Hour is one of the most inspirational events of the year. It’s the world’s largest mass participation event for the environment, bringing together millions of people, businesses and governments to share a common cause and a common sense of purpose – the need to tackle dangerous global climate change. Last year, people […]

Last year, people in 162 countries ‘switched off and had fun in the dark’ to support Earth Hour. This simple, symbolic gesture shows that we really do care about the future of our planet.

But there are some lights that you just wouldn’t want to switch off. The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) and the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) are amongst nature’s most spectacular displays, and I’ve been fortunate to witness them in both polar regions.

Early explorers marveled at them. Inuit, Viking and Maori recounted legends about them, including stories of evil spirits, feasts with the gods or kinsmen trapped in polar ice-caps lighting bonfires as rescue beacons.

So what are these lights that arc across the polar skies, dancing and shimmering, twisting and turning and rolling over themselves? This video goes some way to capturing their wonder and beauty.

In fact, the aurora are caused by solar wind from the sun hitting the magnetic field of the Earth above the poles and producing electrical currents. These currents cause atmospheric gases to glow. Or – to put it another way – it’s a bit like having a massive fluorescent tube flickering above each of the poles!

Earth Hour matters. In our busy day-to-day lives this huge event forces us to stop and think about the future. Raising awareness of the climate challenge we face. Setting out concrete actions we can take to protect our environment. Ensuring that our children live in a fairer, greener society. The Liberal Democrats are the only […]

]]>Earth Hour matters. In our busy day-to-day lives this huge event forces us to stop and think about the future. Raising awareness of the climate challenge we face. Setting out concrete actions we can take to protect our environment. Ensuring that our children live in a fairer, greener society.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to have nailed their green credentials to the mast, and set out how our radical agenda will be delivered in a way that is both credible and affordable.

Protecting the environment is in the Lib Dem’s DNA, and having five Green Laws on the front page of our Manifesto shows our intent.

From day one of the next Parliament we will have our green commitments on the table, from cleaning up the air we breathe, to greening the energy and transport we use. These are Liberal Democrats commitments because they build a fairer society.

The new UK laws will help achieve existing Scottish Government targets and especially help meet those where performance is struggling. They would help Scotland along the way to meeting our world-leading climate change targets (YouTube video), which have been missed for three years running.

The five green laws will cover climate change, waste, nature, energy and warm homes. Each has a specific relevance for Scottish households and businesses.

These five measures show that the election of Liberal Democrats to Westminster will do more to tackle climate change than relying on the Scottish Government alone.

Liberal Democrats are proud of our environmental record in government. From the launch of the Green Investment Bank to record investment in railways and renewable energy, we have taken a personal responsibility for the “green crap” that others too often brush aside past polling day.

The challenge to our climate in Scotland and across the UK remains as stark as it was five years ago. We have made progress, but much more needs to be done. For example, the Committee on Climate Change found that UK sales of electric vehicles in Scotland had fallen back to 6%. Our five green laws go further and put green commitments at the heart of the next Parliament’s legislative programme.

They will set out the target of a zero carbon Britain by 2050, decarbonising energy production and supporting renewable strengths (PDF) we have in Scotland.

We will enact a Stern style report on waste to create a circular economy where products are designed to minimise their impact on the environment and waste is treated as a resource for further economic benefit. Our Green Transport law will quicken the moves to ultra-low emission and electric vehicles by the middle of the century.

Our Warm Homes law will allow OFGEM to help Scottish households who connect to heat networks, giving people more confidence to take the step. We will permit the Green Investment Bank to support community heating and insulation initiatives.

Our Nature Act will help protect biodiversity, with new provision for wildlife including the establishment of a one million kilometre South Atlantic marine reserve.

This sets a clear direction for households, industry and the public sector when making policy. It realises Liberal Democrat ambitions for a fairer society, building a stronger and more sustainable economy which provides opportunity for future generations.

Willie Rennie MSP, Leader of Scottish Liberal Democrats

Have you signed up for Earth Hour? Tell us what you will be up to on the night

Naresh Ramchandani is the co-founder of environmental non-profit Do The Green Thing, a partner at design firm Pentagram and a practitioner of what he calls “communications with a conscience.” Together with WWF, Do The Green Thing commissioned designers and artists to create a collection of everyday objects that inspire people to live more sustainably for […]

]]>Naresh Ramchandani is the co-founder of environmental non-profit Do The Green Thing, a partner at design firm Pentagram and a practitioner of what he calls “communications with a conscience.” Together with WWF, Do The Green Thing commissioned designers and artists to create a collection of everyday objects that inspire people to live more sustainably for Earth Hour. These became known as the ‘Everyday Things Collection’.
Naresh Ramchandani

We asked Naresh about the collection and how design can change the world.

What’s the idea behind Do The Green Thing?

Do The Green Thing is a public service for the planet. Our manifesto is ‘Creativity vs Climate Change,’ and we curate and publish wonderful pieces of creativity by artists and designers from around the world to encourage people to do simple things to be greener in their everyday lives. To ensure those pieces of creativity are focussed, they are all based on actions recommended by our environmental advisors. And to ensure they are seen as widely as possible, we publish throughout the year and look to amplify through partnerships with like-minded organisations, such as Unilever, with whom we are currently working, and with WWF, who we’re working with to support Earth Hour, the biggest climate-change action moment of the year.

What can design do to change the planet?

Well if you define design as all the products and communication that have been created to encourage and affirm our consumerist lifestyles, then you could say that design has changed the planet already. It’s design that helps to convince us that we need exotic holidays or this year’s shoes or this month’s phone or else we’re not glamorous enough or hip enough or with it enough. Equally, deployed well, design can help to convince us that holidays at home are as special as holidays overseas, that last year’s shoes are worth mending and keeping and that last month’s phone is not any worse than this month’s. That’s the idea of Do The Green Thing: to use creativity to make sustainable behaviour as desirable as it makes unsustainable behaviour…to give sustainable behaviour a fighting chance.

Tell me a bit more about the ‘Everyday Things’ collection

When we worked with WWF to support Earth Hour in 2013 and 2014, we worked with artists and designers to create posters that promoted sustainable behaviour. The posters, by wonderful people like Sir Paul Smith, Sir Quentin Blake, Rankin and David Shrigley, were both fantastic and heartfelt, and were shared to tens of millions around the world. But this year we wanted to do something a little different; we wanted to put a series of Everyday Things into the fabric of everyday life, real objects as tangible messages and real world examples of sustainable practice to combat climate change, the most real problem our world faces. When we asked artists and designers around the world to be part of Everyday Things, we had no idea how they would would react, but the response has been just amazing.

What’s your favourite design in the ‘Everyday Things’ collection?

To be honest I would love to have them all around me: I would love to be sitting in Nous Vous’ Crate Chair surveying Kristiina Tuura’s Flowerbed by my window, admiring Sophie’s Hawaiian beach lights and polishing Dorothy’s No Globe with my David Shrigley’s As Vulture Does tea towel. While my daughter makes a cardboard box-bot using Hudson Powell’s M.A.T.S, I would pour myself a glass of tap water from a bottle topped by Yair Neuman’s TopTap and gaze longingly at Daniel Weil’s Flower Glass while listening to music played on Simon Elvins’ Paper Record Player.

Then, getting up and turning off my light (thanks to Torsten Sherwood’s Lightsaver), I would stride into the world wearing PPQ’s Undone T-shirt, Adam Claridge’s Explore shoes, Marion Deuchars’ Born to Walk socks and Ron Arad’s Bottlecap badge and flash my James Joyce Overconsumption Fiver before leaping onto my Bucket Board skateboard by Mac Premo and then hopping onto a bike with Eve Lloyd Knight’s See The World bike tape. Once back, I’d write about my day in one of Marina Willer’s Sketchbox using a Do The Green Thing Pencil To The End.

Has the collection inspired you to live more sustainably?

Yes, very much so – though I am still nervous of riding a bike in Central London, even armed with Eve Lloyd Knight’s bike tape. But as well as inspiring the way I live, the collection gives me hope. Everyday Things has been an astonishing contribution of thought, love, ingenuity and energy, and when this much creative effort has been donated by so many talented people to make sustainable behaviour this desirable, it gives me more faith that greener living will be a normal way of life.

Ahead of the global Earth Hour celebration at 8.30pm – 9.30pm on 28 March, Do The Green Thing and WWF are releasing the collection online and through social media – you can view the #EverydayThings objects so far on the Earth Hour website.

You can also share your own panda light-switch, using the template created by student competition winner Torsten Sherwood, by downloading it for free as a special reminder to switch off!

2015 is a crucial year for mobilising international action on climate change and sustainable development. That’s why I am very pleased the Welsh Government will be supporting WWF’s Earth Hour on March 28th, turning out the lights at many of our buildings and Cadw monuments across Wales to show our support for our planet. I’m […]

]]>2015 is a crucial year for mobilising international action on climate change and sustainable development.

That’s why I am very pleased the Welsh Government will be supporting WWF’s Earth Hour on March 28th, turning out the lights at many of our buildings and Cadw monuments across Wales to show our support for our planet.

I’m proud that Wales is joining this global celebration as a symbol of our support for the environment. Yet again we expect hundreds of thousands of people in Wales to take part, joining many millions around the world. Our iconic landmarks, including the Senedd, will join famous buildings from New York to Sydney in switching off the lights.

But of course Earth Hour is about more than joining in on the night. It’s also a reminder that we need to take action throughout the year to secure a brighter future.

In September this year, 193 United Nations member states will be agreeing the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In December, governments from around the world will meet in Paris to agree a new global treaty on climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process. Securing these agreements is vital if we are to keep global warming below the agreed upper limit of 2 degrees Celsius, support equitable and sustainable use of resources, and tackle poverty.

It is therefore vitally important that Wales, in this momentous year, continues to demonstrate international leadership.

The recent passing of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Bill is a huge achievement. We are one of the first countries to have legislated to put sustainable development at the heart of our government and our public services to help us safeguard the interests of future generations. We have also sought to align the seven well-being goals in the Bill with the emerging UN international Sustainable Development Goals. . The world has been watching us along this journey and I have no doubt it will be celebrated. We should be very proud of what we have achieved, but the work now starts to deliver the Wales we want.

Support for the Size of Wales initiative in Kenya, where WWF is a partner organisation. Wales’ global responsibility is part of the Well-being of Future Generations Bill. (Photo: Waterloo Foundation)

Wales faces a number of long-term challenges, including climate change, which in particular will impact the most vulnerable here in Wales. It will also have very real human impact beyond our borders – for example through famine, drought and damage to the precious forests, rivers and oceans on which many communities depend for their survival. The seventh goal in the Well-being of Future Generations raises the importance of Wales’ global responsibility.

Climate change is very much a people as well as planet issue. Recognising the social justice impacts of climate change continues to underpin our work internationally with partners, including our work in Africa.

I am proud of Wales’ record. We were one of the first countries to have a sustainable development duty, the first Fair Trade Nation and one of the first countries to legislate for Active Travel.

Of course there is still a long way to go. That is why I have committed to climate targets in Environment Bill – to better evaluate our progress, provide certainty to help drive investment for a low-carbon economy and confirm achievable targets to work towards, with the overall target of reducing greenhouse emissions by 80% in 2050 against 1990 levels. I want to make sure Wales is doing all it can to take full accountability of its global duty.

Ultimately though, no government can tackle climate change alone. It requires collective action. Our aim is therefore also to enable and empower people to act. That is why Earth Hour is so important as an accessible way for people to show they care for our planet, and to inspire them to take positive action.

As I write this, it’s just over a week to Earth Hour. And I think that this year it should be even more of a celebration than usual in Wales. Why? Because we’ve just done something amazing for our planet. Yes, we did it. After over three years of campaigning, our politicians have passed a […]

The Well-being of Future Generations Bill will change the way public bodies in Wales work. They will have a duty to meet the future needs of our children and grandchildren as well as making decisions for today.

For example, it should mean more action to insulate homes to tackle climate change. It will also change how public bodies buy goods and services, such as sourcing wood in a way that protects forests.

Thanks to all of you who supported our campaign to get a strong Bill. That includes everyone who made a Welsh Wish for a brighter future, as well as our partner organisations in the Sustainable Development Alliance.

A lot’s happening in Wales!

It’s brilliant to see people and organisations across the country getting ready for lights out at 8:30PM on Saturday 28 March 2015:

We have many of Wales’ iconic landmarks switching off on the night – from the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea to Conwy Castle

13 of the 22 Welsh councils have already pledged their support – already more than in 2014.

Cross-party support for Earth Hour in the Assembly – 24 AMs came to our event on Wednesday! Again up on last year.

Universities have also been getting in on the action – thanks to staff and students at Bangor, Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Swansea for signing up.

Poet Gwyneth Lewis is supporting Earth Hour. She wrote the famous inscription on the Wales Millennium Centre, which is signed up and is going dark on the night.

Dine In The Dark

I recently dropped in to Cardiff Bay WI to tell them all about Earth Hour and it was a lovely reminder of how we can support such a big global campaign at a local level.

As I explained to them, this year we want you to support Earth Hour by dining in the dark. It could be a cosy candlelit takeaway for two, a dinner party using one of our Earth Hour recipes or a night out at one of our participating restaurants.

Personally, I’m planning to dine in the dark at one of the many restaurants supporting Earth Hour.

It’s great to see so many venues across Wales showing their support – from Enoch’s Fish and Chips in Llandudno Junction to Plas Bodegroes in Pwllheli and many restaurants in the capital.

On the night – get creative

Please share your Earth Hour photos with us on the night. On Twitter, follow @wwfcymru and then tweet us your images using hashtags #LightsOutCymru and #EarthHourUK. On Facebook, like our page then tag us (WWF Cymru).

We’re also on Instagram and if you’re in the Cardiff area, you can share your Earth Hour with the Igers Cardiff group.

So remember to do it for your planet at 8:30PM on 28 March 2015. Switch off the lights and have fun!

Eating out with friends or family, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. More often than not, we do it to celebrate – even just because it’s the weekend! The enjoyment of sitting down together and sharing fine food and a glass or two of wine is something truly to savour. However, wouldn’t it be wonderful […]

However, wouldn’t it be wonderful if every time you went out to dinner you could sit back and tuck in to your dinner safe in the knowledge that the restaurant shared your ethical values and the meal wasn’t going to cost the earth?

All too often diners find themselves having to park their principles at the door of their chosen restaurant. Whilst you might be sure to buy free-range meat to cook and eat at home and think nothing of recycling all your domestic waste, those values can disappear out the window when eating out.

If you relate to this dilemma, then we have good news. There are now more than 4,000 restaurants, pubs, cafés, hotels and universities, pretty much from Land’s End to John O’Groats, who are members of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) and have committed to serving up sustainable suppers. In fact, the list of venues is a wee bit longer and includes train operators and an airline. So, from now on you can make informed choices about your dining destination.

Even more exciting is that the SRA has teamed up with WWF for this year’s Earth Hour, so that on 28 March you can book yourself in for a candlelit dinner at one of the dozens of SRA Member restaurants that has signed up to switch out the lights. And whether, it’s fish and chips, Mexican street food or perhaps a gastropub dinner that takes your fancy, there is plenty to choose from.

In fact, for one lucky couple there’s the chance to have a star-studded dinner. Battlesteads, an award-winning hotel and restaurant in Northumberland, which has the highest possible rating from the SRA (Three Stars) has just opened an onsite observatory, taking advantage of its location in the largest Dark Sky Park in Europe. They’ll be serving dinner to a pair of lucky diners who can also gaze at the night sky.

Former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers’ Wahaca, which has been serving grasshoppers to demonstrate how they can be a tasty and a sustainable alternative protein source, will also be serving up candlelit dinners in selected restaurants across London and in Cardiff. If quality pub grub is your thing, then choose from one of the Food and Fuel pubs. If you’re looking for something off the beaten track but award winningly sustainable – then Sustainable Restaurant of the Year, the Captain’s Galley in Scrabster, where only seafood that is plentiful and in season is served, is the place for you.

Snap for your supper

Just as a little Earth Hour present, the SRA is also putting up a fantastic prize of dinner at an SRA Members restaurant of your choice – to the value of £150. To be in with a chance of winning, simply snap a picture of you enjoying dinner by candlelight and send it to earthhour@thesra.org or tweet it to @the_SRA using #CandleLitDinner. And you could be having your next candlelit dinner on us.

So next time you come to decide where to eat out, look for the SRA stars – dubbed the Michelin Stars of Sustainability by The Sunday Times – awarded to restaurants who complete our rigorous, holistic rating that covers all aspects of their business under the headings Sourcing, Society and Environment.

The time for urgent action on climate change is now. This is not some distant issue for the next generation or the one after. Earth Hour offers us an opportunity to reflect on what we can do, as individuals and as activists to tackle climate change, even if it is as straight forward as switching the […]

For the UK, climate change isn’t someone else’s problem, it’s also ours. Globalisation isn’t a cliché; it’s a now a fact of life. We need to develop new sources of clean energy, we will not be able to rely on fossil fuels forever.

In Scotland we are trapped between a Tory government who will not rise to the challenge, and an SNP one whose actions do not rise to their rhetoric.

The Chancellor is apparently determined to undermine efforts of the previous UK Labour Government to move to a low carbon economy, backed by a party full of climate change deniers and sceptics.

The SNP Government in Edinburgh have made grand pronouncements on the importance of the green economy to the future of our shared prosperity yet the SNP missed its target for reducing greenhouse gases for the third year in a row.

They have powers over our some of our biggest emitters such as transport and agriculture. They need to use these powers to move to a low carbon, inclusive economy.

But it is also an opportunity to scrutinise the powerful, to ask serious and searching questions as whether our Governments are doing as much as they could.

We need to have this debate, one grounded in the scientific fact of climate change, where our rhetoric never escapes the reality of our actions. In short – we need an honest discussion.

As the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party I am clear that we will put climate change at the heart of our agenda. We will prepare Scotland to reap the rewards of a green revolution in our economy, and take the steps necessary to ensure that our incredible scenery and wildlife can be enjoyed by generations to come.

Climate change is a most serious issue. It is a threat to our environment, our security and our economic prosperity. We have an obligation to act so as to ensure a more sustainable future, not leave this task to future generations. Last year, a record 162 countries took part in WWF’s Earth Hour – and […]

]]>Climate change is a most serious issue. It is a threat to our environment, our security and our economic prosperity. We have an obligation to act so as to ensure a more sustainable future, not leave this task to future generations.

Last year, a record 162 countries took part in WWF’s Earth Hour – and this month, millions will once again come together and reflect on what we can do to safeguard our planet.

For me, Earth Hour symbolises the need for us to effect real and lasting change.

While higher temperatures and rising sea levels threaten all of us, their impact – at least initially – will be most keenly felt by some of the planet’s poorest nations.

Over the last quarter of a century nearly a billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, but climate change threatens to turn the clock back and unravel such gains.

As one of the world’s leading nations, we in Britain have an obligation to demonstrate our commitment against environmental degradation right across the globe.

British Ministers have spearheaded the push which saw EU members agree to cut domestic emissions by 40% by 2030. And the International Climate Fund – set up by this UK Government – has provided almost £4 billion to help the world’s poorest countries adapt to climate change whilst promoting cleaner economic growth.

In Scotland, too, all the major political parties are committed to tackling climate change; a commitment demonstrated in the 2009 Climate Change Act.

Passing a law shows intent but since then, annual targets have been missed not once, not twice, but on three separate occasions.

This matters, because if we are really to effect change then environmental policy must be both realistic and tangible.

The sight of a Scottish Government desperately trying to spin away poor numbers does nothing to take the debate forward.

Likewise, we must do more to involve our communities in the process of emissions reduction. Too often the language of climate change is either apocalyptic or statistical; fear-inducing but also oddly technical and dry.

This, combined with the fact that policy is frequently crafted and administered by the centre, can make the whole endeavour of reducing emissions appear divorced from our daily lives.

Earth Hour is one of the first in a calendar of events in 2015 targeting climate change, and is unique in its call for citizens all over the world to come together and take one collective action. This year it will be crucial for world leaders to similarly cooperate and finally take meaningful steps to […]

]]>Earth Hour is one of the first in a calendar of events in 2015 targeting climate change, and is unique in its call for citizens all over the world to come together and take one collective action. This year it will be crucial for world leaders to similarly cooperate and finally take meaningful steps to addressing climate change.

Last year’s international talks in Lima failed to establish binding targets on emission reductions for developed countries. Further discussions are scheduled to take place in Paris at the end of 2015 and there’s a risk that we might see the same lack of progress. It isn’t that world leaders don’t know how to address climate change – the real problem is their refusal to do anything about it. Developed countries continue to prioritise economic growth in the face of overwhelming evidence of the disastrous impact of climate change.

It is painfully frustrating to see such stunted progress on an international scale. But even here in Scotland, despite consensus on the principle, the Government’s failure to see the contradictions between its economic and climate policies makes progress painfully slow. Climate targets now look more than likely to be missed for a fourth year running.

I welcome any steps that the Scottish Government makes towards combatting climate change. Indeed following Green pressure they recently pledged £20m more towards energy efficiency, one of the most important ways to make progress on climate change and fuel poverty.

Sadly the scale of action is still way below what’s needed. Action on this scale won’t be enough to fix the problems of fuel poverty or alleviate suffering households, and the increased funding for cycling infrastructure isn’t anywhere near enough to make our towns and cities realistically cycle-friendly, like other European countries. This budget is a perfect example of the lack of political will to make any serious commitments to tackling the problems of climate change.

Obsession with GDP growth obscures any discussion on the harmful impacts of industries like aviation and fossil fuel, which results in these concerns being ignored. The Scottish Government’s moratorium on fracking is welcome, but they have not yet committed to a full ban, and are keen to support other forms of fossil fuel extraction. This is all the more shocking in light of robust conclusions that significant amounts of known fossil fuels should remain in the ground, deemed as ‘unburnable’. Using these reserves would risk a rise in global temperature beyond the internationally agreed limit. The Scottish Government needs to make serious long term commitments to achieving a low-carbon society. The Scottish Green Party and I will continue to press the case for consistent action not just from the Climate Change Minister, but from all parts of Government.

I’ve spoken about climate change here on an international level and a national level. But action by individuals will be vital in achieving both practical and political impact; keep raising awareness of the urgency of climate change and turn off the lights on 28 March 2015.

Have you signed up for WWF’s Earth Hour? Let us know what you will be doing

Earth Hour is just a few weeks away now and there’s a growing sense of excitement as we see more and more Welsh organisations signing up. We’re looking forward to seeing Wales going dark for the hour at 8:30PM on Saturday 28 March, to show support for our planet. The WWF Cymru team here in Cardiff […]

]]>Earth Hour is just a few weeks away now and there’s a growing sense of excitement as we see more and more Welsh organisations signing up.

We’re looking forward to seeing Wales going dark for the hour at 8:30PM on Saturday 28 March, to show support for our planet.

The WWF Cymru team here in Cardiff has been beavering away, spreading the word about the event.

Me and Mel getting ready for Earth Hour – has your organisation signed up yet?

Our Earth Hour intern Mel Adey is busy helping Welsh councils, landmarks and businesses get involved. As well as trying to get more buildings than ever before going dark during the hour, Mel is on hand to provide posters, postcards and stickers for your organisation.

Notable Welsh landmarks once again taking part include Bangor University, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.

But it’s not just the big landmarks that count – Mel’s signed up many smaller local landmarks including Wrexham Parish Church and a site she knows well from past childhood holidays, Machynlleth Clock Tower.

John Lewis in Cardiff is among many Welsh businesses and landmarks already signed up for Earth Hour.

Alongside these landmarks a number of well-known businesses will be joining in. Staff of John Lewis are looking forward to going dark again this year in their Cardiff store, and IKEA Cardiff has maintained its high levels of enthusiasm from last year when it embraced the Pass the Panda campaign.

This year Ikea will have a craft area during the day where children can create environmental ‘super heroes’ to save the world. They will also be getting their staff involved in a “what did you do this Earth Hour?” photo competition.

As Earth Hour is all about people coming together in celebration of our planet, we are encouraging restaurants to host candle-lit dinners. The restaurants in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cardiff and Newport’s Hilton Hotel are on board and we hope that many more will join them over the next few weeks.

Castell Coch is among Welsh landmarks going dark this year.

Feeling inspired? Here’s how you too can get involved:

Sign up – Follow this link and you can choose to sign up as yourself and/or on behalf of your organisation. And while you’re there, you can add yourselves to the Earth Hour map!

If you’re a Welsh business or organisation taking part and looking to promote your involvement, please email Mel at earthhourofficer4@wwf.org.uk and she can provide you with Earth Hour posters, postcards and stickers.

Switch off non-essential lighting on the night itself – 8:30PM-9:30PM on Saturday 28 March

Share your plans and on-the-night photos on social media – use the hashtags #EarthHourUK and #LightsOutCymru